Whereas, Over a decade has passed since the publication of the 2002 Academic Senate paper Part-Time Faculty: A Principled Perspective;
Whereas, Expectations of and demands placed upon part-time faculty have increased dramatically since 2002, particularly due to revised accreditation standards, increased state and federal demands for institutional accountability, and unprecedented budgetary pressures;
Whereas, A 2008 Rostrum article, “Part-time Faculty: Where Are We Now,” written in part to measure progress made since 2002, laments “the existence of an enormous cadre of [part time] faculty who are not on anyone’s radar” and closes by stating “the time is ripe for change”; and
Whereas, Despite the fact that the Fall 2010 Plenary Session hosted several breakouts dedicated to part-time issues, a 2011 survey, reported in a 2012 Rostrum article (Effective Practices: Part-Time Faculty and Local Academic Senates), revealed that, a decade later, part-time faculty participation in nearly every aspect of shared governance, curriculum development, and student success initiatives continues to be unacceptably low, low enough that the paper concludes “local senates might be well served to explore ways to incentivize the participation of part-time faculty”;
Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges create a task force consisting of both full- and part-time faculty charged with updating the 2002 paper Part-Time Faculty: A Principled Perspective to reflect progress achieved and challenges remaining with respect to the original paper’s policy-level recommendations and best practice suggestions for local senates, and to make further recommendations related to the status of part-time faculty as needed by the Spring 2014 Plenary Session.
MSC